The Paris Hours
What Independent Booksellers Are Saying
“Get yourself a French beret and prepare to be transported to Paris by the lovely prose of Alex George. The Paris Hours is a literary time machine that places the reader into a 24-hour period in which the lives of four people are forever altered. With characters you will come to see as friends, and a surprise ending you can’t possibly see coming, the reader of this gorgeous story will be altered as well.” —Mary O’Malley, Anderson’s Bookshop, LaGrange, IL
“The lights of Paris have never been as magic as in Alex George’s newest book, The Paris Hours . George shines in his character development…then touts his plotting finesse in building to a most dramatic conclusion. Everything coalesces to make The Paris Hours one of the finest novels of the year. Alex George deserves every accolade he receives for this book. It has ‘Winner’ written all over it!” —Nancy Simpson-Brice, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
“The Paris Hours by Alex George is a vivid portrait of a beautiful bygone era, and it will sweep you away. The most affecting parts of this story don’t deal with celebrities, but with regular people fighting through life with quiet dignity. As this grand novel draws ever closer to a searing climax, the reader becomes more and more immersed in the magical milieu of 1920s Paris. Alex George has delivered a magnificent historical novel bursting with memorable moments and characters.” —Danny Caine, Raven Book Store, Lawrence, KS
“Absolutely swept me away. A gorgeous mix of real and imagined characters that come together to create a window into the sizzling 1920s. A bravura performance of a writer at the top of his game. The Paris Hours is fabulous.” —Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
“The Paris Hours will appeal to a wide variety of readers and will be a terrific book club selection.” —Elizabeth Merritt, Titcomb’s Bookshop, East Sandwich, MA
“In The Paris Hours , Alex George has applied his crisp, lyrical prose to a genre-bending novel steeped with historical detail and slow-rumbling suspense. A fascinating, thought-provoking read.” —Anderson McKean, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL
“Alex George has produced a masterpiece of literary fiction. Lovers of All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale will surely rave about this one.” —Carol Katsoulis, Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, IL
“I loved The Paris Hours. There is not a word wasted in the entire novel! It demonstrates the force of six degrees of separation among the haves and have nots of 1927 Paris, played out in a mere twenty-four hours. The reader will savor this slice of time.” —Fran Ziegler, Titcomb’s Bookshop, East Sandwich, MA
“Alex George has gifted me—all of us—with another fine tale.” —Linda Bond, Auntie’s Books, Spokane, WA
“The Paris Hours is an elegant time machine transporting the reader to the Jazz age in Paris, those golden hours between the wars. Ravel’s music dances through the air, Proust writes feverishly, Hemingway smolders, Josephine Baker seduces with a smile that lights up the room. And the language! Alex George is a wordsmith using gorgeous prose. This is a book you will not want to put down and will look forward to reading again. I loved it.” —Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR
“This remarkable book is a sweeping saga that will open your heart to the pain and music of life.” —Jeff Peters, East End Books Ptown, Provincetown, MA
“Twentieth-Century Paris between the wars is a rich tapestry of art and culture. It’s also the backdrop for Alex George’s intriguing and intricate new novel, The Paris Hours . Told in multiple voices, the story of performers, writers, artists, and others includes famous names like Proust, Hemingway, and Picasso. However, it is George’s original characters who illuminate the City of Lights. A street puppeteer, a writer’s muse, a harlot, an art dealer, an orphan—these people spring to life on the page, slowly revealing their history and the interconnected web of secrets that tie them all together. An enigmatic reflection on Paris and French culture and a marvelous read to the very last paragraph.” —Vivien Jennings, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, KS
“Over 24 hours in 1927 Paris, four people’s lives intersect through events set in motion years ago, and along the way we meet Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Marcel Proust. What a great book—book clubs will enjoy discussing this one.” —Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC
“The Paris Hours is Alex George at his best! He takes readers to 1920s Paris, creating an atmospheric and personal journey into what could be and what could’ve been. Add in a little revisionist wishful thinking, graceful and powerful prose, and you get a novel that will stay with you for a long time.” —Kathleen Caldwell, A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland, CA
“The Paris Hours is a rich read, rewarding its audience with moments of readerly outburst that raise eyebrows. I experienced full-on tears, outbursts of laughter, and dawning-gasping realizations as brilliant plotting came together. With a broad cast of characters, and only 24 hours of connection, George shows how different and how alike we all are, regardless of status, place, and time in history. I can’t wait to find a pocket of time to read this one again.” —Carrie Koepke, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO